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I left the Cape yesterday. I have to say the last few weeks have been a blast. I’ve missed the animals dearly, however I have been able to recuperate much more effectively not working on demand. Taking time out to nurture myself, have a lie in here and there. Splash out and be a little extravagant. Obviously assisted by the glorious company of some new friends, people I chose to spend time with.
So what have I been up to? I made it to George, along the glorious Garden Route. It was a hair raising journey in both directions, however it was rather beautiful. I tagged along with Deon’s parents to see their daughter. We decided upon doing the park run at the Garden Route Botanical Gardens. A beautiful wooded trail and in the company of Louise’s two dogs. I took Lexi. She’s only eight months old and has only 20% vision. She’s gorgeous, but very lively. It made for a challenging run! I ended up going over on my ankle again as she tugged me off balance and over a root stump. Third time lucky ay!
Come the afternoon we made our way to a local farmers market, where we took in the sights, sounds and food. Shopped till we dropped, quite literally sums up the rest of the day. I’ll be honest I have spent more time rooting through markets and buying unique one off pieces than ever. Things that when I look at them, make me smile. The odd ring, which a little further into the trip I found myself feeling a loss of not wearing one. Strange as I haven’t worn one for a few years. I have no one to give me anything like that for any reason so I gave it to myself, it sits neatly on my pinky. I have a one off handmade necklace also. Quite stunning pieces that I don’t necessarily need, but they spoke to me in some way. I have no regrets. I haven’t checked my bank account for a couple of weeks deliberately because I wanted to enjoy my last few weeks. I’ve taken financial hit from various sides, I’ve lost trust in some people and institutions, so it became my two finger salute to their shallowness, hehe. I’ve bought plenty presents for others, so it’s my turn now. Only problem being what started as 30Kg of luggage has gone up to 49Kg and after being wrongly advised about luggage allowances I find myself again making a loss. Still as I keep reminding myself, money can be earned back. Time and experiences that present themselves cannot.
People may consider this the trip of a lifetime. It isn’t for me, it’s my journey throughout my lifetime. It would have been safer to stay at home engaging in the humdrum of daily life, trying incessantly to pull things together; but I chose not to and in doing so I’ve learned so much more. About myself, others, philosophy, culture, love, acceptance, respect, worth and everything in between
Apologies I digress…..in my usual way….
I spent a couple of days mooching around the university town of Stellenbosch finding cute boutiques and cafes, sculpture and art. A day at Spice Route tasting everything from Grappa to cheese and wine. A wonderful day in the company of two friends, spending the morning at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. A sheer delight of magical wooded gardens containing the many varieties of Protea, South Africa’s national emblem, bird of paradise flowers and others various curious but beautiful botanies. A walk above the trees gave breathtaking views across the enormous gardens and the bay of the Cape.
The afternoon found me at Vergelegen Wine estate. Despite the wet weather my friend Lauryke and I enjoyed an afternoon of wine tasting and fun walk in the gardens with the large golfing umbrellas loaned to us from the kind staff. The gardens were an obstacle course of puddles and the fragrance of fresh herbs and wet earth overwhelmed the senses. We found the oldest tree apparently on record in South Africa dating back to the 1600’s. And in my super relaxed state I even made it to the gym that evening.
My last Saturday was spent taking part in a trail race which was part of the Wacky Wine Festival. I resigned myself to a slow steady pace, my ankle felt better and showed no signs of giving up. The pace on reflection could have been nothing but slow given the sheer gradient of the first hill. 3-4kms in and it was just up, up and up again. Warnings at the side of the pathway depicting Rocky or Arnie warned that your calfs would burn and such like. All in Afrikaans. I’m pleased I didn’t understand them at the time. I don’t think I could have taken the psychological hit. I made it to the top and stopped momentarily to take pictures. After that it was up and down for the rest of the race, though nothing quite as severe as the first hill. Unfortunately the downhills got to my old injury and come 8/9 kms I knew that if I continued I’d probably end up doing something rather serious. I split off and took a shorter route back to the finish following the end of the 10km route. I’d signed up for 20Km and under normal circumstances I would have got through it come hell or high water, just not this day.
Other than that I’ve had evenings out for meals, trips to markets beside the beautiful vineyards, many a meaningful conversation over coffee. All cherished memories.
I’m sat feeling quite reflective in a my friends sunny garden in Pretoria with the realisation that my departure from Africa is imminent. I’m listening to Einaudi and have the company of Biscotti, a six week old scottish terrier…she’s snuggled beneath my cardigan right now keeping cosy. I have a flight back to Zambia to catch on Saturday and another back to the UK on the following Tuesday. No tears so far, every ending has an new exciting beginning. The goodbyes I have said so far are not permanent, they are merely see you now, see you later.
I look forward to catching up with people of course, but I wonder how I will see and perceive the familiarity of home once I’ve unpacked my bags and the novelty fades.
My life back in the UK will never be the same. I say that with all hope. And after I return who knows where life will take me, what doors will open and what opportunities will present themselves. All I know in this present is that I’m in a good place and that some things, people and feelings will be constant in my life, others not so much.
It’s much more obvious out here that the richest people in the world are rarely materialistic or financially well off and that words can sound like absolutely everything and mean absolutely nothing. I’ve heard the most promising words can come from the most devious of hearts and sometimes the harshest words come from the most sensitive of hearts. I guess people do and say what they do in order to survive on some level. Another digression….
I took an early morning walk with a neighbour of the family I’m staying with in Pretoria. Jeannie is in her late 60’s and has the energy and passion of someone half of her age. She does a lot of voluntary work around the local reserve, maintaining, protecting and educating others about the area. She loves the work that she does and loves to share it with others.
It was a beautiful urban reserve. We were out and about just after 6am. It was frosty and quite bitterly cold. She took a flask of tea and we sat in the bird hide at the midpoint of our walk. We watched the sunrise and kept a look out for the resident young bushbuck. They unfortunately didn’t make an appearance, but it was still a pleasant 5km walk watching the first light illuminate the trees and long savannah grasses. The same may be on the cards for tomorrow morning. I think I need to be more thoroughly prepared with extra socks and gloves!
So an extremely early start on the 13th, 2.30am no less. After making the decision to actually go to bed and not pull an ‘all nighter’. It was hideous and I felt bad for my friends who were taking me to the airport. Too much luggage and a dodgy foot do not go well together. As I limped my way through the airport tired and slightly delirious I couldn’t wait to reach my final destination.
It was a short flight of 1hr 50 to Lusaka. I slept a little on the flight, bringing my total sleep in two days to around 2.5hours. My friend from the river Mick greeted me at the airport and we chatted all the way to the house. His son and friend were sat in the living room playing games. I managed a cup of tea, (I’ve actually started drinking tea since I’ve been away to my own amazement!) and maybe 40 minutes snooze. We were heading to a festival at Bongwe. A colour festival, the instructions to wear white highlighted exactly what would be happening at this festival. We went for drinks first at a bar just next to the backpackers. I tried to opt for coffee, I was given the option of anything but.
On arrival we were given wrist bands and a bag of coloured powder. There was a stage with a DJ set up and music playing, local bands were to play later. There was huge mixture of families, young, old, posers, devil may cares. Most of who were already spattered with powder to greater or lesser extents. The friends we met had been mildly abused when we met them in the bar. That was nothing compared to how we left the place that evening. Goodness only knows how many bags were utilised during the random acts of sprinkling, spattering and blatant bombing. Yes there were a wide range of techniques employed and my appearance changed almost every five minutes. I went from blue beard, to full on avatar to Shrek’s girlfriend. My in between look seemed to more that of a street urchin as the colours melted together. Twas fun, albeit slightly suffocating at times with the shower of dust that exploded into the air. Despite the scrubbing I’m still finding dirt welded into my pores and my scalp is a funny orange colour.
Sunday was spent with a morning at Lilayi. Coffee at the lodge and then the elephant orphanage. I didn’t get the privileged encounter I did last time, but it was a sheer joy to see these little creatures. So beautiful. I unfortunately missed Suni. As anybody who may have visited or watched Paul O'Grady’s animal orphan series knows, Suni actually had a boot made for her after undergoing a horrific attack which affected her spinal cord and rendered her back legs paralysed. She has had months of physio and various treatments, however her lack of sensation means she actually walks on the side of her foot, so this boot helps to compensate for the imbalance. Unfortunately despite her progress it unsure exactly what her future will hold.
The afternoon was spent at the friends of Mick at their beautiful house a little further on from Lilayi. The stunning peace of the place, amidst green lawns and trees with a horse paddock to the side. The entrance to the house was an outside bar with plenty choice of seating. Inside a huge open plan dining, living area with a large kitchen and stairs taking you to the next level. We sat at a long table with other guests enjoying a Sunday dinner with wine. The Dom Pedro’s rounded the meal off nicely! A combination of Ice cream laced and whipped up with brandy.
Monday saw an early start. We hit the road at around 8 and headed down towards the Lower Zambezi for a final visit. We planned to head out on the river once we got there. It was slightly cool compared to how I remembered it, but pleasant enough to wear shorts. Our aim was to spend a couple of hours on the water, then head down to Gwabi. I’m guessing we may have been out around about 1.5hours. Bites were sparse so we moved our location to do a tiger drift. The motor was off and all was quiet. The water had been still with no disturbance. I was sat with my legs stretched out at the back of the boat, whilst Mick got bait out to put on the fish hooks. All of a sudden there was an almighty ‘dooosh’. The boat rocked violently and tipped enough to submerge one side briefly. What the…. I thought we had hit a sandbank. Then around five seconds later came another ‘doosh’. Harder than ever submerging the side even further, I slid and my legs were fully submerged, I was going in or so I though. I instinctually seeing that Mick was behind me grabbed for my camera and phone bag which were sliding further into the water. Mick had grabbed me having seen me head for the water. What was that? Hippo he replied, stay very still. As soon as he could he started the engine and full throttle we sped away. We need to get out of here, I think we may be sinking. Now Mick is experienced on the Zambezi, we’re talking 20 years with no incidents. He knows what to look out for and isn’t one of the idiots you sometimes find trying to agitate the animals. He was in shock, I was shaken, although we both kept our cool. The journey back was a very quiet one. It could have been a lot worse. The Lower Zambezi is not a place you should consider swimming for many reasons! My friend finally exclaimed, it looks like the Zambezi doesn’t want you to leave.
The thought haunted me. I do have a lot to go back for in the UK, my family means the world to me. I have my friends and the remnants of a business which I may or may not be able to pull together. A previous exchange with someone who I had considered a close friend distracted me from the amazing beauty of the river, but my renewed energy and mindset stopped me from letting it ruin my day. Still now I’m amazed at how some can take positivity and love and turn them into something so dire and destructive.
The drinks flowed for the rest of the day and as I watched the sunset for the final time I felt peaceful again. Ann and Tony dropped in to say hello and pick up their surprise package…Surprise, yup tis me again. I’m so pleased I got to catch up with them before I left. The sound of the hippos bellowing amused me….yeah almost got ya!
I now have no camera or phone. They were absolutely floating. Another hit I wasn’t quite expecting and that’s despite all of the bruises. Hey ho, I guess I can say that I’ve had a truly rounded African experience. TIA as they say!
A meal of bream and salad and a spot of spontaneous dancing left me in the mood to snooze. I fell in to bed, it was cold initially, but I slept soundly once I warmed up. I woke around 3am to the sound of my friend snoring. Sound-wise competition for the hippos. And then an incessant crunching sound. It went on and on and on. I slowly peeled back the blind and there loomed the outlines of three hippos. Fascinating creatures.
I went back to sleep for a while, but woke again to watch the moon surrender it’s dominance and give way to the rising sun. It cast a beautiful pink glow over the river, bringing new life to the day. I defy anyone not to feel at peace out here, it’s just easy. Out here when you laugh, love or live you do so with all of your heart.
Day of reckoning…will she make the flight or not?? It was stretched, but I knew it couldn’t be any other way. The trip back from the Lower Zambezi took over two hours and I came back minus my luggage. It hadn’t been delivered to the Zambian side in time. I was annoyed and slightly sluggish from the previous evening. I had gifts for my mum and all sorts which I’d left with a friend to save on my travelling luggage weight. Okay, so the being peaceful things…it’s probably 97% true. I’m hoping it can be posted out. The rest of the morning was spent packing the rest of my luggage and throwing it into the boot. Picking up supplies of Simba, chutney flavour crisps and an additional ipad cable. I needed to see Lilian and pick up some things I’d also left with her whilst I’d been in Lusaka. I didn’t think I’d quite got directions right as she had moved since I left Lusaka last time. Fortunately I was right in my intuition and made it to the top of her street. She pulled up alongside us, at which point I breathed a sigh of relief. I said my last goodbyes to Lilian and Florence and we were back on the road dashing for the airport. The driving was slow and styles and skills can be somewhat atrocious on the roads. It certainly did nothing for the stress levels contained in the car.
I clambered over the seats and into the back of the car to try and pack the rest of the things I’d picked up into my luggage. You will fit goddammit! I had two of the largest pieces of hand luggage and my handbag, plus two suitcases weighing in at the upper limit. I said my goodbyes to Mick and thanked him for accommodating me on my final days. It’s been awesome!
So my first flight of the day….Lusaka to Harare. Sit tight and don’t leave the plane. I just had to clarify that. Some people left and more people boarded and within around 45 minutes we were on our way to Addis. At every port of call I got the usual, “what happened to your passport?”, then I’d regale the inconvenience, time and expense of petty theft.
I trudged my way around the airport, not entirely sure what currency they dealt with there. I felt a little ignorant. I asked a local and they could not give me an answer. I’m assuming or at least hoping that they just did not understand my question. I killed a little time in an internet cafe chatting to my sister. I also came across a message from an old friend I’d made whilst receiving treatment on ward 8 at the RVI. We had been in touch a long time ago, though after losing my address book communication obviously ceased. Proper communication, you know like old fashioned letter writing ;) She had looked me up and hoped I was the same Sarah H that she suspected. It’s always nice to return to friendships and feel valued in someones life.
Boarding time was 12.05, it happened around 15 minutes late. As I bounced my way out of the departure lounge and along the gangway I looked up and mentally said my last goodbyes to the magical continent. You can return time and time again and you will never have the same experience or see the same things.
After taking a few people out with the excess luggage hanging from my shoulders I found my seat and piled it into the overhead locker. I had what I needed at floor level to keep myself both entertained and nourished for the next seven and a bit hours.
I couldn’t believe my luck once the plane had apparently finished boarding to have a full three seats to myself. BONUS! And then someone went and sat on the end. Around five minutes before we took off a cabin steward came and politely said that if I felt uncomfortable that there were plenty of other aisle seats that I could relocate to. I thanked him and briefly considered it, but the thought of moving everything just felt too much hassle. When he returned shortly again saying the same thing, I had to question why he felt it necessary for me to move. I was slightly considering the state and mentality of the man who now sat at the end of my row. I couldn’t tell whether he was inebriated or important or perhaps a potential threat in some way. The air stewardess had to put his seatbelt on for him, adding an extension to make it fit. He looked fairly sedate right now and I guessed that it wouldn’t be long before he fell asleep. I moved anyway. I was pointed in the direction of aisle 23.
I took my seat and said a brief hello to the guy sat beside the window. From there the evening’s entertainment began.